Type Military Academy Dean Prof Frednard Gideon | Established 1970's | |
Commandant Brig Gen Wilbard Shikongo Undergraduates Bachelor of Military Science (Honours) in:
Aeronautical,
Army,
Nautical- Electronics,
Nautical- Mechanical,
Nautical- Weapon Systems Postgraduates Master of Arts in Security and Strategic Studies (MA-SSS) | ||
The Namibian Military School is a training unit of the Namibian Defence Force. As per international norm the School is a military unit of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) and It is housed in the School of Military Science of the University of Namibia.
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It is the premier training institution of the Namibian military and offers a variety of training ranging from basic military training to undergraduate as well as postgraduate academic qualification. It provides officers of all the arms of service an opportunity to earn a military science oriented qualification.
History
The school traces its roots back to the Namibian Liberation struggle when the forerunner to today's military school was established in late 1979 as the "SWA Military School" by the South West African Territorial Force during the South African administration of Namibia. The school is the primary training unit of the force. It is partly based at the Osona Military base. It is also one of two NDF training institutions that offer the six-month basic military training (BMT) to all recruits wanting a career in the Namibian Defence Force. The school also conducts training for all officer cadets in the force.
In 2012 it was announced that the Ministry of Defence and the University of Namibia agreed to twin up and come up with a degree level military science curriculum to provide cadet officers with a degree level qualification.
Location
The school is located at the military base of Osona outside Okahandja. The main academic campus is being built within the town of Okahandja. Some of the B.Mil classes are offered at the University of Namibia Campus in Windhoek.
Training offered
As the primary training institution, basic training for all NDF recruits is undertaken at the Osona military base outside Okahandja. Basic training for recruits is six months long, and is offered in two phases, Basic Military Training and Platoon Weapons.
Some of the military aspects covered include drills, field craft, skill at arms, minor tactics, coin ops, military hygiene, military law, military aspects, first aid, map reading, law of armed conflict and conventional warfare.
A cadet officers' course is run at the military school.
As of 2013, the University of Namibia and the military school jointly began offering the undergraduate Bachelor of Military Science (Honours) degree with three specialization areas, Aeronautical, Army and Nautical. The Nautical specialization is sub-divided into an additional three fields: Nautical-Electronics, Nautical-Mechanical and Nautical-Weapon Systems.
The MA-SSS programme was the first implemented as a joint curriculum between UNAM and the Ministry of Defence in 2007. It is a master's level degree. It mainly enrolls senior officers of the Namibian military. In 2012 the postgraduate diploma in Security and Strategic Studies was also initiated by the Ministry of Defence and UNAM as a "bridging" course to help students prepare for the tougher Master of Arts in Security and Strategic Studies degree course.